Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop
by CassandraDarling
Summary: "The Israeli smiled and whispered, "We are all hiding something Tony.""  Gibbs meets a complicated redhead with big secret at a coffee shop. AU Jibbs!Along with Tiva and McAbby, oh and Ducky's getting married!
1. Prologue

**AN: Well, since my other NCIS story, Please Don't Leave Me, is coming to a close, I've decided to start a new project and this is what has came out of it! This is AU, please keep that in mind! I've been interested in this idea for a while now, and I'm still a little foggy on where it's going, but I do have quite a few ideas up my sleeve and if you have any please feel free to let me know!! I'm not going to tell you anything about it other than it's a Jibbs fic, so maybe you should read and find out the rest for yourself!? Reviews are much appreciated, and inspire me to update faster! *hint hint* :D I have a beta, (Sacha, you are awesome!) but I'm open to any extra comments/suggestions! Let me know what you think! **

**Well, enough of my rambling, Enjoy!**

* * *

Leroy Jethro Gibbs walked into the new 24 hour coffee shop just around the corner from his usual coffee place and looked around. There was no one there, which was to be expected seeing that it was 1:00 AM, except for a very blonde and bored looking employee at the counter and a possibly homeless man that appeared to be sleeping in a far corner booth. Gibbs walked up to the counter, glancing at the menu as he took out his wallet.

"Hi, welcome to my own personal hell, what can I get for you?" The blonde asked, examining her black nails and flipping through a magazine.

"A black coffee, no sugar or cream." Gibbs answered, throwing a five dollar bill on the counter and watching the young woman as she attempted to get the correct amount of change.

She gave him back 50 cents.

"A regular black coffee is 4 dollars and 50 cents?" He asked in disbelief.

The blonde looked around confused and suddenly yelled "Uh hold on…Jenny!"

Gibbs stood silently, growing impatient as he waited. An attractive redheaded woman walked out from the back and he watched curiously as she motioned for the blonde to come to her. Gibbs quickly checked her out, taking in the long red hair, her perfectly curved body and the impossibly high heels she wore. The women talked in hushed voices, and seconds later the redhead walked up to the counter and the blonde was gone.

"I apologize for that, it seems Candy couldn't handle the impossible task of counting, here's your change Mr.…?"

Gibbs looked at the woman and replied with a gruff "Gibbs."

She smiled softly, and Gibbs suddenly felt this overwhelming urge to make her smile again. He spread both of his hands out on the counter and watched with interest as the woman made his coffee.

"How could you drink this stuff?" She asked making a face and handing it over to him. Their hands brushed and the contact sent a spark through him, making him feel spontaneous and confident, charming even. He shrugged and took a long drink of it, savoring the taste, before taking a risk and asking her, "Wanna sit with me?"

Her eyes flashed with shock at first but she quickly covered it up by glancing around the small shop and replying with a simple, "Sure."

He led her over to a table with two chairs and pulled out her chair with his free hand before sitting down in his own. She looked at him, impressed before sitting herself.

"That was very chivalrous of you, are you always so…mannerly?"

Gibbs chuckled and looked at her with his electrifying cobalt eyes.

"I'm far from it, Ma'am."

"Call me Jenny." She replied, grabbing his Styrofoam cup of coffee and rubbing her hands up and down it, trying to gain some warmth in the chilly room.

"How about Jen?" Gibbs asked, taking the coffee from her hands and taking another drink. Jenny tilted her head and watched him through her long lashes. She quickly and discreetly glanced down at his hand for a sign of a ring and smiled when there was no trace of one.

"My father is the only one who's ever called me Jen, with everyone else it's always been Jenny or Jennifer." She said, sticking her tongue out after she said Jennifer, making Gibbs chuckle.

"Well, I think I'm going to call you Jen, unless you oppose."

Jenny merely nodded and yawned, scrunching up her nose and lifting her arms about her head in a full stretch. Gibbs watched with interest, trailing his eyes over her and noticing what appeared to be a tattoo peaking out from underneath the raised black shirt at her hip. After she finished she looked at him and folded her hands.

"So what brings you here so late in the evening, Gibbs?"

He placed his now empty Styrofoam cup on the table between them and replied sarcastically, "I needed coffee and the place I work at doesn't 'supply' it."

"Oh, where do you work at?" She asked, quirking an eyebrow inquisitively.

"NCIS." He replied, ready to elaborate if she, like everyone else, didn't know what it was. Gibbs was surprised when she simply nodded and pulled her long hair back into a low pony tail.

"You know what NCIS is?" He asked doubtfully, wondering if she was pretending to know just to impress him or if he should really underestimate the mysterious and intriguing woman in front of him.

"Yeah, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, or something like that, right?" Jenny replied.

Gibbs nodded, impressed at her knowledge and all the more eager to get to know her.

"Thought so, are you an agent?" Jenny asked, curiosity shining through in her bright green eyes.

"Actually I-" He began, the door to the coffee shop opening interrupting him. Gibbs' eyes widened as Tony walked further into the room with a smug smile planted on his face.

"Boss!" Tony said, feigning surprise as he walked towards them.

"DiNozzo." Gibbs practically growled as he watched Tony give Jenny his infamous elevator eyes.

"Hi, I'm very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, you can call me Tony, and you are?" He said, turning up his usual charm and sticking his hand out towards Jenny. Jenny glanced at Gibbs and back at Tony, smiling she shook his hand.

"Jenny Shepard."

Tony nodded and looked down at her, noticing her hair, he looked at Gibbs and gave him a thumbs up behind her back.

"What do you want DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, careful not to make eye contact with the woman sitting across from him.

"Well you see boss, Probalicious and I had this bet and Abby helped him cheat so-"

Gibbs glared at him and replied, "Don't care DiNozzo."

Tony cringed and put his hands in his pockets.

"Well, yeah of course you don't but basically I have to get 20 doughnuts for Abby and Elflord, and I came here to see if they sold doughnuts."

Gibbs glanced at Jenny who wore an amused smirk on her face.

"We do sell doughnuts," Jenny started, looking up at Tony. "But not after 5. If Melvin our baker was still on shift I would have him whip something up but he left an hour ago." She offered sympathetically. "Sorry."

Tony's smile vanished and he sighed dramatically. Gibbs' cell phone rang, and he excused himself.

"So, how do you and Gibbs know each other?" Tony asked, sitting down across from Jenny and wagging his eyebrows suggestively. Jenny smirked and bit her lip, she was about to reply when Gibbs surprisingly walked back and smacked Tony on the back of the head.

"We got a case, go start the car." He said as he glared at the younger man. Tony nodded and hesitated to leave, looking down at Jenny, he smiled.

"It was very nice to meet you Jenny."

Jenny looked up at him.

"Likewise, Tony."

With that Tony walked away whistling Sinatra, leaving Jenny and Gibbs alone. Jenny stood and looked at Gibbs, who put something on the table before walking to stand in front of her.

"It was a pleasure Special Agent Gibbs." Jenny said smiling.

"Jethro." He replied as he began to walk away, stopping when she called out his name.

"Jethro?"

He looked at her expectantly and half smiled when she laughed shyly.

"I just wanted to say your name. Goodbye _Jethro_." Jenny said, emphasizing his name, as she began to walk into the back.

"Hey Jen," Gibbs called out before he was fully out the door, he pointed to the table they were sitting at moments ago when she turned around. "You should clean up that mess."

With that he left. Once Jenny was sure he was gone, she walked back over to the table and found a 'business' card with his numbers. Jenny clutched the card in her hand and smiled widely, she was tempted to jump up and down and squeal like a teenage girl but decided against it and placed the napkin in her pocket for later use. Glancing around at the now deserted shop she sighed heavily and went into the back to find Candy.

* * *

"So Boss, you and Jenny-"Tony began suggestively as the pair sat quietly, stuck behind a never ending red light.

"No, DiNozzo." Gibbs interjected sternly as he looked ahead and drove steadily on the deserted road.

"But boss, at least tell me you're going to see her again. I mean she was definitely a looker and if you don't mind me saying-"

"I do mind." He barked, glaring at Tony in the passenger seat.

"Okay, you're the boss." Tony said, sideways glancing at Gibbs in the driver's seat. "But if you're not interested do you think I can get her-"

"Number? Not if you want to live DiNozzo." Gibbs interrupted, smirking to himself when he exited the car, leaving Tony behind.

Tony watched his boss as he walked away; he smirked and clapped his hands together as he formed a plan. _This was going to be fun. _He thought as he pulled out his cell phone and dialed a familiar number.


	2. Unexpected circumstances

**A/N: Welllllll, I finally decided to update! Not too sure if I like this, and I might redo it and take it down a different path, but I figured I would let you guys decide for me :) Please let me know what you think! No beta, so all mistakes are unfortunately mine! **

**Enjoy and review!**

**xoxo-C**

* * *

The moment Abby had shut her phone, Gibbs walked into her lab.

"Gibbs! You are JUST the person I wanted to see!" Abby said, the smile on her face widening when he placed a Caf-Pow in front of her.

"What do you got for me Abs?" He barked, focusing all of his attention on the computer screen in front of him, trying to grasp what he was looking at.

"Well, the real question is, what don't I have for you!" Gibbs looked at the young goth expectantly. "Yeah, anyways, First off, there is no body, only body parts!"

Abby waited, and when the older man said nothing she continued, getting pretty excited over her findings. "It's actually pretty cool Gibbs, well in a sick twisted sort of way, the killer used what I think is an Ax but there are still more tests I need to run on that one. Also, Ducky found a separate letter carved into each limb. We are going to try and see if there is a secret message or code all together but from the looks of it, what we have here is a serial marine killer Gibbs!"

Jethro shook his head silently, all previous thoughts of contacting Jenny Shepard again going out the window. He had to focus on this case, it was different than the others this time, his gut was twisting and he was now determined to get the bastard.

Abby watched the older man gaze at the screen in front of him, she wanted more than anything to bring up the red-headed woman Tony called and told her about, but she knew Gibbs well, and she knew he had nothing on his mind but the case.

The goth decided to wait, and instead her and Tony would do a little research in the mean time.

* * *

Jenny Shepard waved to Candy goodnight as she walked out of the shop, her shift had finally ended and she was ready to crawl into the comforts of her king sized bed.

She smiled, excited to get home and just relax, and began to walk down the street hurriedly. As she was walking she heard someone behind her, or she thought she did. Turning around she looked for a person and sighed in relief when there was no one in sight. Turning back around her eyes widened and she screamed as she was stabbed in the stomach by someone in all black.

The said person picked her up and carried her down the street, she fought hard and finally his grip on her slipped and she fell to the ground. She let out a low grunt as her shoulder hit the hard pavement. Hurriedly she turned onto her back and kicked hard at anything as she was reached for again, Jenny almost smiled when she heard something crack and she got up and ran back towards the shop.

She ran and ran until her left foots heel broke. Jen lost her balance and stumbled back towards the ground; she clenched her teeth tight and waited for the hit, she didn't realize she had fallen into the arms of a person. Opening her eyes and with the help of the stranger she was pushed back into an upright position, she smiled widely, thankful to see a familiar face.

"Oh thank god you're here!" She said, breathing heavily.

Tony DiNozzo's eyes widened when he realized Jenny Shepard had been stabbed and was losing a lot of blood.

"Jenny, are you okay? We need to get you to a hospital right now. Can you tell me who did this to you?"

The red head shook her head stubbornly and released herself from his grip. "No hospitals. I don't know who did it, I was walking home from the shop and someone stabbed me, they tried to take me but I fought and ran. I don't know anything. What if they-"

Jenny stopped and began to pant, the wound in her abdomen and her other injuries starting to hurt more and more. She looked at Tony and watched as he spoke softly but firmly into his cell phone. He hung up and looked around, making sure no one had followed her.

"You'll bleed out, I'm taking you to someone and that's final." Jenny couldn't refuse because she felt her eyes shutting, and everything turned black.

* * *

Tony carried Jenny into the NCIS headquarters and rushed to the morgue. The moment the doors opened he shouted.

"DUCKY, I need you now!" Ducky hurried into the main part of the morgue and was shocked to see the young agent covered in blood and holding a young, pretty, unconscious woman.

"What in the world Anthony?" He said, rushing to the table Tony laid her on.

"I'm not too sure, this is a woman I met tonight with Gibbs, she works in the new coffee shop and I was walking to get some coffee and she ran into me. She said someone had tried to snatch her and she fought, she refused a hospital Ducky. I didn't know what to do…"

Ducky nodded and pushed Jenny's hair out of her face. "Yes well, you did the right thing Anthony, I am going to start examining her. You said Gibbs knows her?"

Tony nodded, wondering just how well Gibbs really knew her.

"Well you need to call him down here, she will want to see a familiar face when she regains consciousness."

Tony nodded and headed for the elevator. "Okay... make sure she's alright Duck."

* * *

Gibbs sat in MTAC, waiting for his coffee DiNozzo was supposed to be back with. He looked up and watched as Tony walked up to him, without his coffee.

"DiNozzo, there better be a damn good reason my coffee isn't in your hand." Tony nodded and bit his lip, hesitating for a split second.

"Boss, remember Jenny from the coffee shop?"

Gibbs eyes flashed angrily.

"Leave it alone DiNozzo!"

Tony shook his head.

"No, boss she's here… in the morgue, she had been stabbed and wouldn't let me take her to a hospital, said someone tried to take her. Ducky is examining her."

Gibbs didn't say a word and left, walking towards the elevator he shook his head.

"Shit."

* * *

Gibbs arrived in the morgue and heard laughter, he sighed in relief and walked through the automatic doors.

Ducky and Jenny both looked at him, Jenny stared at him for a second and looked down, blushing.

"Ah Jethro," Ducky said smiling. "I am very glad you're here, and I'm sure Jennifer here is glad as well."

Gibbs smirked and walked towards them. "I thought you didn't like the name Jennifer." He said, looking at the redhead, not skipping over her rather large stab wound. His eyes lingered there for a moment and then he looked into her eyes.

Jenny chuckled and shook her head. "I find it charming when Doctor Mallard here calls me it, with anyone else…not too fond of it."

Ducky gripped her shoulder comfortingly. "Please my dear, call me Ducky."

Jenny smiled and nodded, wincing when he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Oh goodness, I am sorry, I wasn't aware your shoulder was injured as well." Ducky said concerned.

"It's nothing, I'll be fine Ducky." She looked at Gibbs, and looked away quickly when she saw that he was staring at her.

Gibbs looked her up and down, taking note of the broken heel and her dirty and torn clothes.

"I'm going to need you to tell me what happened, Jen." He finally said.

"I'm not even really sure I know what happened, I was walking home after work and I had this like, gut feeling that I was being followed. The next thing I know, there was a knife in my stomach and a guy lifting me over his shoulder. I fought and ran and stumbled into Agent DiNozzo and uh, here we are."

Gibbs nodded thinking silently. _Rape attempt? Robbery failure? _

"Well, what do you wanna do about this Jenny?" Gibbs said, their eyes locking.

"Nothing. I want to go home and sleep." She yawned thoughtfully, and Gibbs resisted the urge to smile.

"That's out of the question." He said stonily.

Jennys eyes flashed angrily. "Who are you to tell me what to do? I want to go home."

Gibbs shook his head. "No."

"You aren't my keeper Agent Gibbs, I can do whatever I please."

He stared at her for a long, hard moment.

"I'll take you home if you want, but I'm putting a uniform outside of your house, and we are clearing the inside before you can stay there."

Jenny looked at him incredulously. "What? No. I do not need all of that, if you MUST check my house, fine. I'll let you. But you are not going to waste a person's time to watch me all night. I am not that important and it's completely unnecessary."

Ducky patted her on the shoulder.

"My dear, you really should let Jethro take care of you, he's the one to trust in situations like these."

Jenny thought for a moment, smiling softly at the Doctors advice.

"Fine. Ducky are we done here?"

Ducky was more than satisfied. "Yes my dear, just be careful the next few days. I'd recommend bed rest but I get the feeling you wouldn't like that very much. Just be sure to rest, mind your stitches and ice your shoulder." He paused and smiled. "Please contact me if you need anything else. It was more than a pleasure to meet you Jennifer. And don't be a stranger!"

Jenny smiled and slowly got off the table. "Likewise Ducky, thank you for being so kind."

He nodded and with that Gibbs escorted a barefooted Jenny Shepard to the elevator.

Jenny watched him watch her out of the corner of her eye.

"Is there something in my teeth?" She said, stepping into the elevator.

"What?" Gibbs questioned.

"You're staring at me."

Their eyes locked.

"I know."

Jenny looked away, smiling widely and trying to maintain the flipping and flopping her stomach was currently experiencing.

"Why?" She questioned, still avoiding his eyes.

"Am I not allowed to look at you?" He responded, sounding serious.

Jenny squeezed her eyes together, wishing for the elevator to arrive so she could get away.

"I need shoes." Jenny said, avoiding his question and looking down at her feet.

Without another word to her Gibbs reached for his cell phone.

"Abs, I need your help." He paused. "Okay be right down."

"Hope you like black." Gibbs said, smirking and changing the elevator floor to the forensic lab.

Jenny nodded. "It goes with everything."

Gibbs gave a hardy laugh. "We'll see about that."

The redhead unconsciously rubbed her abdomen where she was stabbed, she wanted to question Gibbs further about what he meant, she had a lot of questions for him. But she decided against more conversation, enjoying the comfortable silence between them. The elevator signaled its arrival and the doors opened, revealing a very unusual sight.


	3. Secrets and Slippers

**Thank you everyone for the lovely reviews. story alerts, and favoriting my story! I was inspired recently and got this chapter written within one night, I'm satisfied with it and finally have a strong idea about the direction of the story. If you have any questions/ideas/suggestions, please feel free to PM me or leave them in a review :) Also, I do not have a beta, (excuse my mistakes, I apologise in advance for them!) and would GREATLY appreciate someone to bounce ideas off of.**

**Anyways, leave me some feedback, I love hearing from you guys!**

**Enjoy!**

**xoxo-C**

* * *

Gibbs stared at the scene in front of him, frustration and curiosity radiating from his body as he watched his entire team hovering over the computer in Abby's lab. Before Gibbs had a chance to walk further into the lab with a limping Jenny, Abby turned around and smiled widely. Running up to them and blocking his view of his troubling team she said breathily;

"Hey Gibbs! Is this her? Wow you always get involved with the prettiest women, which isn't really surprising because well…look at you, you're a silver haired fox!"

"Abs…"

Jenny smirked at the young woman's remark, sneaking a glance at Gibbs to watch his reaction. She was surprised when she saw something change in his cobalt blue eyes when he interacted with the goth. Jenny saw a special type of adoration, something that brought up many memories from her past, painful memories she had battled to push out of her mind on a daily basis. She watched Gibbs and Abby in a complete daze, and for a split second she wasn't seeing them anymore, she was seeing her father and herself.

"Jen, are you okay? Jen." Gibbs shook the red-heads shoulder, concern evident in his voice.

"Yes. I'm just terribly tired." Jenny looked around and noticed that she was the main focus of everyone's attention now. Refusing to be intimidated she reached her hand out to Abby.

"Hello Abby, it's very nice to meet you." Jenny looked Abby up and down, taking in the combat boots and the black outfit she was wearing.

Abby paused, watching Jenny watch her. She crossed her arms almost defensively, not taking being judged in a positive light.

"I love your outfit too!" Jenny said sincerely, adding a wink at the end.

All traces of discomfort left Abby and she happily pulled Jenny in for a light hug, careful to mind her recent injury.

"Awh thank you, Ms. Shepard! Do you think I can call you Jenny though? I mean only if you prefer that, I can call you whatever you want!"

Gibbs watched the women carefully, relieved that they got along and then confused over his relief. What would it matter to him if Abby liked or disliked Jenny? He and Jenny had JUST met hours ago, so why was Abby's approval important to him?

The agent shook his head softly, turning his attention to his team when he knew Abby was taking care of Jen.

* * *

Tony looked relieved and content, Gibbs contemplated giving him a good ol' slap on the back of the head but decided against it when he noticed Ziva's tense posture. He walked up to her.

"Everything alright Officer David?" He asked, watching as she avoided his gaze and continued to watch Jenny.

"Yes."

"There a reason you look…interested in Ms. Shepard?"

Ziva met his eyes finally. "No, I just thought I had seen her somewhere before. I must be mistaken."

Gibbs nodded, accepting the answer and turned his attention to McGee, who looked like he was nervous.

"McGee, what are you doing there?" Gibbs questioned, his eyes struggling to look at the partially blocked computer screen.

"Uhm, nothing boss, just looking up some information." Gibbs held back a smirk, always enjoying messing with the young, easily faltered man.

"What kind of information, elflord?" Gibbs' eyes stayed on McGee and he heard Tony choke back laughter. McGee's eyes widened and he stuttered a response.

"Uh, well, you see we were just checking out your friend uh, Jenny, to figure out why someone would want to hurt her, boss."

Gibbs' eyes flashed to the screen and he saw a photo of the said woman. Examining it further with squinting eyes he read that she was divorced and her father had been Jasper Shepard, a deceased colonel who had worked at the Pentagon in arms control.

_Suicide._

Gibbs' eyes turned to Jenny, and he was surprised to find she was already looking at him. He looked away and back to the screen. Gibbs felt like he had stumbled onto dangerous territory and he desperately wanted to back-track. He minimized the window and glared hard at his team.

Walking back towards Jenny and Abby he temporarily allowed himself to think. He had his fair share of painful secrets, and he looked at her in a new way. There was a feeling of mutual understanding and respect coursing between them now, well on his part anyways. Gibbs thought it was unwarranted that he intruded on her private life without being invited to but he made a silent oath to disregard her father until she felt it was necessary to speak to him about it, and that was if she even deemed him worthy of discussing it.

His attention of averted to the red heads amiable laugh. She and Abby were talking about something and he watched with amusement as the goth guilted her into tasting a Caf-Pow.

Gibbs outwardly laughed this time at Jenny as she made a contorted face, scrunching her face in an adorable way.

"What? You not a fan of Caf-Pows either?" He said, his eyes lingering on her lips slightly as she licked the rest of the drink from her mouth.

"Nah, I'm more of a coffee and bourbon kind of girl. But thanks for letting me try Abs."

Gibbs' eyes widened, not sure if he was more surprised at her referring to Abby as 'Abs' or the fact that she liked bourbon.

"It's alright Jenny! Gibbs likes coffee and bourbon too," she paused and raised her eyebrows. "He also likes redheads…"

Gibbs interrupted, placing his hand on the forensic scientists shoulder and avoiding Jenny's amused look.

"Abby, remember that favor I needed? Get to it…now."

"Oh yeah! You need shoes! Would you prefer boots, or slippers?" Abby said excitedly.

Jenny met Gibbs' eyes with a nervous look, the moment disappeared and the red head looked back at Abby.

"Whatever you want Abby, I'm not picky."

* * *

The car ride had been mostly silent, only a few words were spoken about the humor of Jenny's fuzzy, bright, neon orange slippers until the woman couldn't resist her curiosity any longer.

"Abby's a very wonderful and bright young woman." She stated, her eyes still looking out the passenger window.

Gibbs spared her a glance and turned his eyes back to the road.

"Uh huh."

"The rest of your team seemed pleasant as well, you must enjoy working with them?"

"Yup." He began to wonder what direction the conversation would take, he knew she was fishing, and he didn't feel particularly inclined to stop her.

"I take it you're not a man of many words Jethro?" She finally looked at him, waiting.

"I let my actions speak for me, Jen." The use of her name made her smile softly, and she was intensely satisfied with his answer.

"Well, this isn't exactly how I'd imagined our first date." That statement grabbed Gibbs' attention, and he glanced at her with amusement.

"First date huh?"

Jenny looked down in embarrassment.

"Well, why else would you have left me your number earlier tonight at the shop?"

Gibbs ignored the comment and just smiled, knowing his lack of reply would bother her. Enjoying the fact that she would have contacted him again under different circumstances.

"We're here." He said, turning off the car and getting out. Jenny reached for the door handle and was surprised when Gibbs beat her to it, helping her out into the night.

"That was rather chivalrous of you Jethro. Thank you."

Gibbs nodded in response, placing his hand on her back and directing her towards the police car on the other side of the road. The uniform stepped out and as did the one in the passenger seat, one was male and the other female.

Gibbs shared a few words with them and Jenny looked at her watch, finally feeling tired. It was 5:00 AM.

"Can we hurry this up Jethro? I'd like to sleep before I have to go back to work today."

He walked up to her and held out his hand. Jenny looked down at it, confused.

"What?"

"Keys. I need to get inside first, once it's cleared you can sleep, you need it Jen."

She nodded and put her key ring in his hand, watching tiredly as he and the other male cop walked up to her door, and entered warily.

"Ma'am, can you think of anyone that would want to hurt you, for any reason?" The female said, walking up to her.

Jenny shook her head and laughed. "Quite frankly I don't think anyone is 'out to get me'."

The woman looked at Jen, waiting for her to further elaborate.

"I just think it was someone's attempt at robbing me, or heaven forbid a rapist. Either way I fought him and I'm alright. There's a 98% chance that I won't find myself in that situation again."

The cop nodded, seeming to agree with Jenny's sureness.

"Thank you for taking the time to survey my house, although it's greatly unnecessary."

"Well, we typically like to be sure and take all precautions after someone has been attacked. You aren't acting as a typical victim, are you sure you're alright."

Jenny thought of Gibbs, and the feeling of security he gave her.

"I'm more than alright."

* * *

Gibbs entered the big house and looked around, signaling for the cop to check the back of the house while he covered the upstairs and the study. Walking into the study he realized this was a room that was used more often than the others.

He noticed the bottle of bourbon sitting on her desk with an empty glass. There was a fireplace, which looked recently used. On the small couch was a pillow and a throw, Gibbs decided she had spent her nights in here often, opting to sleep on the sofa rather than her own bed. His gut told him that all was well in the study, and he made his way upstairs.

He checked the bathroom, the spare room and a blank, empty storage room. Everything looked in place.

Gibbs came to the last room and determined it as the master bed room. Opening the door slowly he let his eyes adjust to the dark room. He felt for a light switch and flicked it on.

His eyes traveled over the large King-sized bed and he imagined how often she had guests over for sleepovers. Ignoring the bed he carefully examined the television set, her bare dresser except for a makeup bag and different perfumes, and her night-stand. Upon her night stand was a lamp, along with a picture of whom he assumed to be her and her father at her graduation. Gibbs' eyes traveled over the night-stand, almost skipping over the sticky note placed on top of it.

_Call Michael, order a shipment of Jamaican blended coffee for the shop, T.F, shooting range, call Aunt Fern back._

It was a to-do list, Gibbs picked it up, surprised at the reference to the shooting range and making a mental note to question her about it later on. Gibbs declared the house was clear and returned downstairs, meeting the cop.

"Looks clean to me, whoever attacked her didn't come back looking for her here."

Gibbs nodded, and with that they walked outside.

Jenny looked up, unsure if she should be worried. A wave of relief and reassurance washed over her as Gibbs' eyes softened and he nodded to her. "Thank god." She whispered.

Jenny spared the two cops a smile and met Gibbs in the middle of the street.

"Everything seemed in order Jen. If anything hinky happens, you call me. You going into work tomorrow?"

Jenny contemplated it and stared into his eyes. "Not sure yet, all I can think about is being in bed," she paused, noticing Gibbs' eyes sparkle with entertainment. "sleeping." She finished, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you Jethro, it was nice spending time with you, although I can say I wish under different circumstances."

Gibbs nodded, feeling the same way. As she turned, he gently held onto her upper arm.

"I'll be by later to check in, Goodnight Jen."

Jenny smiled and continued to walk to her door, as she closed the door she paused and looked at Gibbs. Their eyes met and he felt a tinge of something, though he was unsure what. The door was shut completely and he looked back at the two cops, feeling Jenny was safe he got into his car and drove towards his house.

* * *

On the ride to his house, thoughts of Jennifer Shepard wouldn't leave his mind. He thought of Jenny and her father's death, he thought of her long red hair and the tattoo he had snuck a glance at. Gibbs imagined Jenny climbing into bed and not bothering to change clothes, falling into a deep sleep the moment her head hit the pillow. He shook his head, trying to erase her out of his mind. She had gotten to him and Gibbs didn't know what to do. It had been a long time since any woman had gotten under his skin and it blew his mind that Jenny, a woman he didn't even know, had done it within one single night.

Gibbs arrived and walked into his house, not bothering to lock the door. Immediately he changed clothes and went into the confinements of the basement. He filled a mason jar with some bourbon and picked up the sand-paper and block of wood. As he began sanding his boat, his mind began to wonder to Jenny again.

"Damn." He said in aggravation. Luckily his phone began to ring, temporarily distracting him and without looking at the number he answered.

"Gibbs."

"I need your help Jethro."


	4. A helping hand

**AN: (I obviously do not own anything) Hey guys, here's the next chapter, sorry it took so long but I was having a bit of trouble, but thanks to my wonderful friend Kelly I have cleared up some stuff. This chapter isn't my favorite, its more of a filler. But here's some McGee and Abby for all of our McAbby fans :D Leave me your opinions and ideas and any thoughts you have. Sorry it's kinda short and for any mistakes as well, as I've said many times, I do not have a beta!)**

**Read, Review and Enjoy!**

**-Cassandra xxx**

* * *

Gibbs pulled up to the house and sighed, the feeling of exhaustion became heavy and he just wanted to get this over with. He walked up to the door and was about to knock when it opened before he had a chance.

"Ah, Jethro, thank you for coming so early in the morning. I'd imagine everything with Jennifer is under control?" Ducky said, opening the door wider to allow the agent into his house.

Gibbs nodded. "She's fine. So what do you need help with Duck?"

Ducky looked at Gibbs, noticing how he avoided the subject of Jenny.

"Oh yes, come with me to the kitchen please, would you like some coffee?"

Gibbs didn't have to answer.

The two men sat at the island counter top sipping on coffee. Ducky could feel the tense vibes Gibbs was giving off so he cut to the chase.

"Well Jethro, I've asked you here this morning to help me move mother's old bookshelf into the basement, but I also wanted to let you in on a little secret."

Gibbs stared at Ducky…waiting.

"I'm terribly sorry for keeping this from you Jethro, but I've been dating a woman now for quite some time…and I plan to ask for her hand in marriage. If she says yes, I want you to be my Best Man." Ducky stared hard at Gibbs, completely serious and curious of his friends reaction.

"Oh Duck. You really think I didn't know about you and Barbra? Come here." Gibbs said laughing and standing to give Ducky a friendly hug. He patted him on the back, honestly privileged that he was asked to be the Best Man.

They pulled away quickly smiling.

"Of course I'll be your Best Man."

Ducky beamed.

"What a relief! Thank you Gibbs…now how did you know, I thought I was very enigmatic about her?"

Gibbs chuckled.

"Jimmy and Abby came to me about your 'hinky' behavior a while back and I looked into it. Barbra seems like a great catch, I'm happy for ya Duck."

Ducky nodded, content with the way things went.

"Well, now let's move onto that shelf and you can be on your way."

* * *

Jenny woke up around 12:30, she took her time waking up, figuring that she was already late so she might as well not rush. She stretched, forgetting about her stitches and she gasped in pain.

Carefully the redhead began to undress out of the previous nights clothing. She felt sore but overall rested.

Grabbing her robe Jenny walked downstairs, thankful for Naomi, the woman that came every other day to clean and do laundry, she occasionally cooked and today was one of those occasions. The mouth-watering smells of eggs and bacon and whatever else she had prepared filled Jennys nose, making her stomach rumble with hunger.

She walked into the kitchen, the tile cold on her bare feet.

"Naomi, thank you so much for all of this, you really didn't have to."

The woman placed a plate full of food down in front of her and also a fresh cup of coffee.

"No senora, it is my pleasure. You eat."

Jenny abided gladly, and began to eat.

Naomi said her goodbyes and left after cleaning up the kitchen, mentioning that she would be back on Wednesday.

Jenny moved her food and coffee into her study, she began filling up final paperwork for the shop when there was a knock at her door. The redhead checked herself in the mirror and once she was presentable enough for visitors she opened the door.

"Jethro…what a surprise. Please come in." Jenny said, pretending to be taken aback and moving to allow him in.

Gibbs looked her up and down and noticed the smell of a home cooked breakfast.

"I'm not interrupting anything?" He indirectly questioned.

Jenny realized her lack of attire and blushed. "Oh, not at all. My housemaid Naomi came over earlier and fixed up breakfast and coffee when I woke up. You are welcome to help yourself if you want."

Gibbs shifted his stance…He hadn't eaten and was his coffee intake was getting low.

"Why not." He said, following the redhead into the kitchen, his eyes trained on her backside.

When Jenny turned he quickly looked around her kitchen. "Nice place ya got Jen."

"Thanks, it's been my home since I was a child. Here's a plate and take whatever you'd like. I'm going to go upstairs and get ready for work if you don't mind? It won't take very long."

Gibbs headed over to the pan of scrambled eggs and shuffled some onto the plate. "Go ahead, I got time."

Jenny left the kitchen and ascended up the stairs, her mind already thinking about the possible outfits she would choose to wear.

Gibbs sipped his coffee thoughtfully, thinking that it was a fairly large house for someone living alone. He looked around the kitchen again, taking in the luxury of the room when he heard a huge _THUD_ come from upstairs. He quickly put his coffee down and began to walk swiftly up the stairs.

He went to Jennys door, unsure of what to do. He knocked.

"Everything alright in there Jen?" He asked fretfully.

He listened and heard her laughing from inside her room. "Yeah I'm okay, uhm," he heard more laughter, "can you come in here and help me…please?"

Gibbs twisted the knob and opened her door slowly, unsure of what she needed help with. He spotted her right away and his bright blue eyes widened.

"Oh boy." He whispered.

* * *

Abby sat in her lab, the sounds of Brain Matter blaring out of the sound system. She walked around, waiting for her babies to find something useful in their case. The whole team was stuck. Every piece of evidence or new information they found, led them to a dead end. Her and Ducky were still trying to figure out what the letters carved into the body parts meant, but Ducky wasn't around much today. It was frustrating to say the least and Gibbs hadn't brought her a Caf-Pow yet.

McGee walked into the lab smiling.

"Hey Abby." He said, walking up beside her and eyeing her computer.

"Hi McGee, have you seen Gibbs?" She asked hopefully, frowning when he shook his head.

"No, I think Tony tried calling him earlier, no answer." Abby smiled widely suddenly.

"OH MY GOD MCGEE, WHAT IF HE'S WITH JENNY!" The goth practically screamed with excitement.

"Then that's none of our business, but I doubt he is, they didn't look too close." McGee said thoughtfully.

"Well maybe they are using this time to get closer! And she IS a redhead, if they weren't close last night they are now!" She bounced up and down smiling.

"McGee, if Gibbs and Jenny get together, our family could finally be complete, we'd have a mommy!"

McGee rolled his eyes and placed his hands on Abbys shoulders. She quit bouncing and instead pulled McGee in for a hug.

They hugged, secretly not wanting to let go and Abby pulled away first, kissing him on the cheek.

"Just watch Timmy, Gibbs and Jenny will be dating in no time if I have anything to do with it! I bet you 15 bucks they'll be an item within the next month. Hey speaking of bets…has Tony gotten our doughnuts yet?"

McGee shook his head, still feeling the butterflies in his stomach from her hug and kiss on his cheek.

"Nope, let's go remind him."

Abby nodded with enthusiasm and followed McGee out to the elevator after locking her labs door. They stood side by side smiling. McGee was thinking about how beautiful she looked today and Abby was thinking about Gibbs and Jenny, oblivious to her friends eyes on her.

Tim rolled his eyes. _I had my shot with her, there's no way it'll ever happen again._

McGee's thoughts were interrupted by the elevator opening and Abby pulling him by the hand towards Tony's desk.

"You owe us doughnuts DiNozzo!" Abby said, crossing her arms in front of her as they stood in front of his desk.

Tony was on the phone. He looked up and signaled for a minute, and after a few hushed words he hung up.

"They're gunna have to wait Abby, we got a break in the case, we need to find Gibbs."


	5. Itsy Bitsy Spider

**AN: Hey lovelies, sorry about the wait. Gaaahhh Dontcha just hate writers block? Well this story is somewhat taking a different turn than what I expected, but luckily I have Kelly to help me out, thanks so much girl! Anyways, I shook some things up a bit, a lot of Jibbs awesomeness in this chapter. **

**I really like the idea of Ducky getting married, what do you think? ANYWAYS, leave me some feedback? Questions, suggestions, ideas, I'm open to anything! **

**Big thank you to all my reviewers and the people who put my story on their favorites/alert list! Love you guys!**

**But anyways, read, review and always enjoy!**

**xoxox-Cassie**

* * *

Gibbs walked towards the bed that Jenny was standing on. She was halfway dressed and holding her blouse against her chest.

"So there a reason you need help Jen?" Gibbs said, ignoring her appearance and examining the tipped over nightstand beside her bed.

"Okay I know what you're going to say when I tell you so just save us the breath and don't say it, but well I was getting dressed and I swear a spider this big," she held her arms out wide for emphasis, forgetting she was only in her red bra, "popped out of my drawer when I went to grab my glasses!"

Gibbs chuckled, watching her in amusement.

"IT'S NOT FUNNY AGENT GIBBS! I know it must seem like a stupid silly thing, but I am deathly afraid of them," She looked at him, and realized he was checking her out, a blush began to creep onto her neck and cheeks. "and now completely embarrassed that I had to call you in for help. So please will you find it and kill it so we can pretend this never happened?"

Gibbs nodded, still laughing. He walked over to her dresser and lifted it up, he placed the drawers back in the slots as he looked for the spider. Not many things fell out of the drawers, but he made an attempt to put the little trinkets and books back when he noticed a switchblade that had made its way under her bed.

Gibbs reached for the weapon when the said spider speedily ran from under the bed and out into the open, Jenny let out a squeak and Gibbs quickly slammed his foot on it.

"There ya go Jen, the spider is no more."

Jenny slowly stepped off the bed, using Gibbs' shoulder as support. She clutched her blouse close to her chest and faced him.

"Thank you Jethro." She said smiling widely.

"Anytime." Gibbs bent over and reached his hand back under the bed, Jenny watched, confused.

He stood straight and held her switchblade out to her.

"What's with the blade?"

Jenny snatched it out of his grasp and slid it into her dress pants pocket.

"It was my ex husbands, I keep it for protection. Kinda ironic though don't-cha think?"

As Gibbs looked into her eyes he noticed her right eye slightly twitch, he stared hard but didn't say anything else. Jenny figured he wasn't okay with that answer so she elaborated further.

"After Michael left, I decided to take it upon myself and learn how to shoot, and I took a few self defense classes. This house seemed too big for just me, so I figured if anything happened I should be prepared."

Jenny looked down and her fingertips grazed her abdomen where she was stabbed. "I obviously didn't plan accordingly."

Gibbs' eyes followed her to her stomach, and again he caught sight of the tattoo peaking out the top of her pants, he couldn't make out what it was, but it was all black and there was some kind of writing.

"I'll be downstairs waiting." He said, leaving the room and closing the door behind him. Jenny let out a large breath, placed the knife back into her drawer and finished getting ready.

* * *

Tony sat at his desk, picking up his phone for the hundredth time he dialed his bosses number, and not surprisingly it went to voicemail…again.

"GAH, where could he be Zee-vah?"

Ziva rolled her eyes, and continued looking through the cold-case file that matched the case they were handling now.

"How should I know Tony? It is not any of our business, but if he wanted us to know where he was, we would know."

Tony rolled his eyes, glancing over at his bosses empty desk.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say he was with Jenny Shepard…"

Zivas eyes shot up from the file and she glared at her partner.

"Let us hope he is not with her." She said.

Tony smirked.

"Ah Ha! I knew it, you don't like her! The real question is why though? Abby loves her, I find her charming, Ducky, McGeek and of course Gibbs likes her. So what are your ninja mutant senses telling you about the coffee shop owner Ziva?"

Ziva sighed and stared Tony down.

"It's not that I do not like her Tony, but she is very familiar to me, and I can't exactly place how. I am just frustrated. Plus she is hiding something."

Tony's eyes widened. "How do you figure she's hiding something?"

The Israeli smiled and whispered, "We are all hiding something Tony."

Just as Tony was about to reply, Abby ran into the bullpin with McGee on one side of her and Ducky on the other.

"TONY, ZIVA! WE HAVE WONDERFUL NEWS! TELL THEM DUCKY!"

Ducky stepped away from the screaming goth and smiled. "Well, I have been dating a woman and her name is Barbra-"

"GO DUCKMAN, UP HIGH!" Tony said excitedly, holding his hand up for a high-five. Ducky lightly slapped the agents hand back and smiled.

"Anyways, I plan to ask Barbra to marry me this weekend and if she says yes, I would love for all of you to be included in the wedding."

Abby squealed and jumped up and down in excitement.

Tony and Ziva shared a look and got up to congratulate Ducky and interrogate him about his potential fiance.

* * *

Gibbs stood in the study, his eyes examining the pictures hung up on the wall.

"That's my father and uncle." Jenny's voice said from behind him. He turned around and took in her outfit. Tight black dress pants and a button up silky green blouse with tall black heels, she looked better than good and he couldn't help but admire her.

"Hubba Hubba." He said in a low voice.

Jenny laughed and walked further into the room until she was standing right next to him.

"Thanks." She said smiling widely and looking at the picture.

"My father and uncle practically raised me, my mother left when I was a child so I was daddy's girl." Gibbs watched her as she stared at the picture; he wasn't sure what to say.

She looked over at him and caught him watching her. Jenny smiled softy and ran her fingers through her red hair.

"I'll take it your team did a check on me," She waited for an answer and continued when she didn't get one. "So you must know about my father's alleged suicide?"

Gibbs' eyes widened and he nodded once, not breaking the eye contact.

"Well, he didn't kill himself, he was murdered." She said, turning back towards the picture. Her eyes lingered on the picture for a few moments before she walked out of the room.

Jenny grabbed her coat out of the hall closet and attempted to put it on with her injured shoulder, she jumped slightly when she felt a pair of strong hands grip lightly on her shoulders.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya Jen."

She let out a sigh of relief and allowed him to help put her coat on her. Gibbs escorted her out of her house, and waited as she locked the doors.

"I never lock my doors." Gibbs said randomly, slightly surprising Jenny.

"Why not?" The redhead asked, actually curious.

"I've got nothing to be scared of." He said simply, shrugging his shoulders.

"Ah, well that's interesting."

They walked down to their cars and stood on the sidewalk facing each other.

"Look-" "I-"

Gibbs and Jenny both began to speak at the same time. He nodded for Jenny to go first.

"Look Jethro, I can't even begin to thank you for everything…especially killing the spider," she chuckled and wrapped her coat around her closer. "But, Is there anything I can do for you? I really don't-"

"Dinner." Gibbs said interrupting her.

"What?"

"You can thank me by having dinner with me, maybe a few free coffees when I stop by the shop, but dinner soon."

Jenny nodded, biting her lip.

"Fair enough, when?"

Gibbs shrugged.

"I'll call ya."

Jenny unlocked her car and smiled.

"Alright, see you around Jethro."

"Bye Jen."

Jenny Shepard drove off and Gibbs watched as she turned the corner, he smirked before he got into his own car. Before driving off he got out his phone and turned it on.

_16 missed calls, 4 voicemails._

Gibbs remembered how McGee taught him how to listen to his voicemails and followed the instructions carefully. He laughed in triumph as he heard the computerized voice.

"First unheard message: _Boss it's me, we got a break in the case, where are you? Never mind but call me when you get this."_

Gibbs threw his phone into the passenger seat and sped off towards NCIS, all the time he was unaware of someone watching him from a car parked on the other side of the street.


End file.
